Think On This..

When joblessness is combined with high rates of incarceration and premature mortality among Black men; it becomes clearer that there are fewer marriageable black men relative to black women who are able to provide the economic support needed to sustain a family.”

The Shepherd by Rev.M.D.Rogers

• 

  The Shepherd"
  
  "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1
  
  
  Who is your shepherd? A shepherd is one who leads his sheep from
  place to place and pasture to pasture. Is the Lord your shepherd
  this morning? Is He the one who is leading you along life's
  journey? Is He the one who leads you day by day in the way you
  should go? Is He the one you are following? Or is something or
  someone else your shepherd? Are you led by your emotions, the
  opinions of others, by your financial needs, by your family or
  friends? Do your possessions lead you? Are you following your own
  lust, fleshly desires, agenda, plans? Is fear your shepherd- fear
  of failure so you keep being lead by it in a direction contrary to
  the way you should go? Do bondage and addictions lead you?
  
  If you are following anything or anyone other than the Good Shepherd-
  the Lord Jesus Christ- you will be led in the wrong direction.
  Instead of being led to "green pastures"- a place of rest,
  abundance, growth- you will be led into lack, greater burdens,
  deeper bondage. Instead of being led to "still waters"- refreshing,
  peace, healing- it will led you to dryness in your soul, confusion,
  and despair.
  
  The focus in the verse should be on "the Lord"- "THE LORD" is my
  shepherd. If you are following Him, you can never go wrong, you
  will always be going in the right direction, you will be growing,
  fruitful, protected, strengthened, find joy and contentment. You
  won't be struggling and in confusion about which way to go.
  
  Examine your walk today. Look closely at it and see who you are
  following, what you are following. Is it truly Jesus? Or is it
  another "shepherd". If it's not the Good Shepherd, then you need to
  stop following it and start following Him. There is a benefit to
  following Him- just read the rest of the chapter.
  
  Have a great day. Who is your Shepherd?

4th. of July 2014

Good Advice

Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy received endless advice and criticism from the media concerning how he should run the country. Much of it he took good-naturedly. In fact, he often used a favorite story in response to the media's comments about how they thought he could do a better job.
He told about a legendary baseball player who always played flawlessly. He consistently hit when at bat and was never thrown out at first. When on base he never failed to score. As a fielder, he never dropped a ball and he threw with unerring accuracy. He ran swiftly and played gracefully.
In fact, he would have been one of the all-time greats except for one thing - no one could ever persuade him to put down his beer and hot dog and come out of the press box to play! Most of us can empathize, for we all have people in our lives who criticize and second-guess. They are quick to point out flaws and quicker yet to offer advice.

Sometimes it's just hard to rise above the dumb stuff. To look the other way when foolishness rears it head. To turn a deaf ear to lies and innuendos.  And when the dumb stuff, foolishness, lies and innuendos are directed it you, then it is even more difficult to keep your wits about you and avoid the "oh hell naw" moment. I'm guilty! I admit it! So, I guess that's why an unknowing colleague sent me (and others) the words of wisdom below. In sharing with you, I hope that you too will find the strength to Rise Above & Fly Like an Eagle!

Giving Boys a Bigger Emotional Tool-Box

Giving-boys-a-bigger-emotional-tool-box

Make Your Money Count By Rev. M.D. Rogers

2 Corinthians 8:1-9

Just as Paul used the example of the Macedonian churches, who gave out of their poverty, to challenge the believers in Corinth to excel in the grace of giving, I would like to provide a few practical exercises to help us move forward in using our money for Kingdom purposes.

First, personalize God’s money. Because God owns all things, He allows us to manage His money while on earth. I have learned that when I assign God’s money a name it forces me to clarify its purpose. For example, if I have cash in my pocket, but have not personalized it I may spend it on things that are unhealthy for me like too many sodas or candy. I believe we spend money more frivolously when it is not given a purpose. We could easily take the $5 a day we spend on coffee each month and sponsor a pastor in Haiti who lives on $150 a month. 

Second, practice giving like God gives to you. How often does God bless you in spite of your unfaithfulness? Several years ago, I decided since God gives to me even when I don’t deserve it that I would try to model that by tipping waiters and waitresses 20 percent of the bill regardless of their service. Sometimes, that has been challenging when the service is bad, but I always try to use the opportunity for Kingdom purposes.

Third, practice random acts of kindness with God’s money. I love going to church with $5 in my pocket, and I pray for God to show me who I could bless. There is a lot of fun in being God’s secret agent. When you give on God’s behalf, people get excited because they know God was thinking about them, regardless of the amount. You can also pay for people’s food in the drive-thru line behind you. Please know your generosity can be a powerful witness to the gospel of Christ. 

There are numerous other examples we could apply to our finances. Just remember, make your money count because you will be held accountable for your money. 

CRITICISM

Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy received endless advice and criticism from the media concerning how he should run the country. Much of it he took good-naturally. In fact, he often used a favorite story in response to the media's comments about how they thought he could do a better job.
He told about a legendary baseball player who always played flawlessly. He consistently hit when at bat and was never thrown out at first. When on base he never failed to score. As a fielder, he never dropped a ball and he threw with unerring accuracy. He ran swiftly and played gracefully.

In fact, he would have been one of the all-time greats except for one thing - no one could ever persuade him to put down his beer and hot dog and come out of the press box to play! Most of us can empathize, for we all have people in our lives who criticize and second-guess. They are quick to point out flaws and quicker yet to offer advice.

When it comes to receiving criticism, I believe it helps to remember first that not all criticism is invalid. Wisdom listens for the kernel of truth and saves it for future growth. But when criticism seems unfair, I believe it helps to remember the hawk. When attacked by crows, it does not counterattack. Instead, the hawk soars higher and higher in ever- widening circles until the pests leave it alone.

When there is nothing to learn from criticism, can you rise above it and soar?

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 
 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.-NASB Translation

FATHER'S DAY 2014

Fatherhood Call to Duty

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/june-web-only/fatherhoods-call-to-duty.html

-Milwaukee Africology department celebrates career of Dr. William G. Rogers » Milwaukee Community Journal

Milwaukee Community Journal » WISCONSIN'S LARGEST AFRICAN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERUW-Milwaukee Africology department celebrates career of Dr. William G. Rogers » Milwaukee Community Journal

Unconventional Mother’s Day Gifts

This Mother’s Day take a moment to think of all the mothers in the world who are in need. There are millions of women in the world living on less than a dollar a day. There are women in this country who are wondering how they are going to feed or diaper their children from day to day. There are children who need medical attention that their parents may not be able to afford. Anyone who has ever had to worry about such things can deeply sympathize. For those of us who have escaped such worries, we can only imagine the level of instinctive stress that uncertainty can provoke.

There are many ways to celebrate Mother’s Day, but here are a few unconventional suggestions that will prove to your own mother that she did a good job raising you. How about dropping off a box of diapers and/or a case of formula to a local food bank or women’s shelter? If you have some baby furniture or clothing that your own children have outgrown, how about donating that stuff to a local charity? Does our local hospital have a fund for children who need care? Are there doctors in our community or city who volunteer in clinics overseas who might need supplies? There are countless ways to help support Moms locally and globally. Let your own Mom know that you were thinking about her and all of the many things she provided for you along the way…and that you did a good deed in honor of her. It will make her proud. 

Becoming Who We Are by Rev. M.D. Rogers

If there were ever a dysfunctional church, it was the church at Corinth. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians reads like a laundry list of problems. Every chapter presents at least one issue where the church is missing the mark. There are scandals, disagreements, confusion, and outright sin. Members quarrel, pridefully taking sides against each other. They hurt and alienate one another.

And yet, at the very beginning of the first letter, Paul addresses members as those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints. Despite all their failures, Paul does not forget what Christ can do in and through them. He points them to their God-enabled potential. In a sense, Paul tells them: "You are holy. Now become who you are."

How can the Corinthian church be both holy and not holy? One way to explain this paradox is through the concept of Christ's "imputed righteousness." We usually apply this to persons, but it also applies to the church corporate. To have Christ's righteousness "imputed" to us means that it belongs to us and counts in our favor. It means having his righteousness cover over our sinfulness, so that God can perceive us as righteous, even though we aren't. Despite lacking any holiness of our own, we are clothed in the "white robe" of Christ's holiness. To claim that the church can enjoy imputed righteousness is not to ignore its failings and shortcomings. But it does remind us of an important aspect of holiness: It is derived from another source.

Human beings derive their holiness from the unique holiness of God. "I am the Lord, who makes you holy" (Ex. 31:13; Lev. 22:32). "I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. . . . I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy" (Lev. 11:44–45). "Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God" (Lev 20:7). "You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own" (Lev. 20:26). Scripture shows a connection between God's holiness and our holiness that must not be forgotten.